Northern Territory in July 2009
Warm and Dry (for July!)

Average day time temperatures were higher than normal across almost all of the Northern Territory. Overnight temperatures were also warmer than normal in the south, but cooler than usual in the Roper-McArthur District and far eastern Arnhem District. Rainfall values were close to zero across most of the Northern Territory, with the exception of isolated coastal showers in the north and northeast, and showers associated with the passage of cloud bands in the Alice Springs District.

Darwin

Darwin experienced a warm month, with the average maximum temperature of 31.3°C being 0.8°C greater than the mean for July. Overnight temperatures were close to average however, with 19.0°C only 0.3°C below climatology for July.

AliceSprings

Alice Springs also experienced a warm month, with an average day time temperature of 20.6°C being 1°C greater than the July average. Minimum temperatures at Alice were also higher than usual. All daily overnight temperatures were above 0°C, with the monthly average minimum of 5.2°C being 1.2°C above the July mean.

Rainfall

July remained a typical dry season month with no rainfall across most of the Territory. Exceptions to this were about the north and northeast coasts where isolated showers were recorded, most notably on 7, 14 and 15 July. Further south in the Alice Springs District, the passage of a cloud band in mid-July saw rainfalls at various locations in the southwest on 13 July. Another cloud band toward the end of the month saw lighter falls, predominately in the southwest of the the Alice Springs District, around 25 July.

Over the Territory as a whole, the area-averaged rainfall was 0.4 mm, 6.5 mm below the long-term average of 6.9 mm.

The wettest overall was 7.0 mm at Cape Wessel, followed by 5.6 mm at Gove Airport, and 5.6 mm at Kulgera.

The wettest single day was 6.0 mm at Cape Wessel on the 7th, followed by 5.4 mm at Kulgera on the 13th.

Maximum temperature

Average maximum temperatures were greater than normal across the Northern Territory, with many stations close to one degree above their July average and some close to two degrees above their July average.

The area-averaged maximum temperature was 26.2°C, which was 1.1°C warmer than the long-term average.

The hottest day was 37.0°C at Noonamah AWS on the 1st, followed by 36.6°C at Bradshaw AWS on the 1st and again on the 2nd, then followed by 36.2°C at Douglas River on the 2nd.

The warmest days on average were 33.6°C at Noonamah AWS, followed by 33.2°C at Middle Point AWS, and by 33.0°C at Jabiru Airport AWS.

The coolest days on average were 20.0°C at Kulgera, followed by 20.1°C at Arltunga, and by 20.6°C at Alice Springs Airport.

The coldest day was 14.2°C at Kulgera on the 27th, followed by 15.0°C at Kulgera on the 13th and again on the 15th, thenfollowed by 15.2°C at Arltunga on the 28th.

Minimum temperature

In the north, minimum temperatures remained within a one-degree range of climatology, except for the Roper-McArthur District and far eastern Arnhem District where minimum temperature anomalies were between one and two degrees lower than average. In the Alice Springs District, overnight temperatures were close to, and at some locations greater than two degrees higher than average. The warmest nights were generally associated with the passage of cloud bands and/or warmer northerly winds ahead of approaching troughs.

The area-averaged minimum temperature was 11.6°C, which was 0.7°C above the long-term average.

The coldest night was −1.5°C at Arltunga on the 16th, followed by −1.1°C at Arltunga on the 19th, by −1.0°C at Watarrka on the 14th and at Arltunga on the 18th.

The coolest nights on average were 4.9°C at Yulara Aero AWS, followed by 5.1°C at Arltunga, and by 5.2°C at Alice Springs Airport and Curtin Springs.